We had Aubrey in our weekly artist group. I got a great start, then made a few small tweaks the next day. There are ALWAYS tweaks to be made! Charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19".

A friend ran a weekly life drawing group that was just very short poses. We started with 30 seconds and the last (longest) of the evening were 5 minutes. After the short poses, the 5 minutes seemed like an eternity. This sketch is from one of the 30 second ones.

"The DVD Seller", oil on panel, 16"x12". In Baghdad in 2009, this kid was right outside our compound hawking pirated DVDs. He worked his butt off. When your world has been turned upside down, you do what you gotta do to survive, and he was determined to survive.

I worked with a wonderful young lady a few years ago on this one. Really enjoyed seeing her creativity spirit! "Astrid #3", charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19".

Esme #1, charcoal and pastel on toned paper. Started (not very successfully) in last week's group life session and revised in the studio over a couple of days.

"Cinderella's Seamstress", oil on canvas, 48"x48". This painting has gotten the most comments and reactions of any I've done. It's still hanging in my studio as a challenge: "top this".

"Tara #3", charcoal and pastel on toned paper. Started in our regular group life session and reworked later in the studio. I got it to this state, then realized that if I did any more, it would work the life right out. Sometimes, you gotta know when to stop.

Three studios of the same model by different artists. Left, by Julyan Davis; center, by Cyrus Glance, and right, by me, all of the wonderful Emma.

"Inner Echoes", oil on canvas, 18"x24". This one was started a couple of months ago, but got sidelined due to other commitments. I think that allowed it to percolate in my little brain a while longer and changed its direction a bit.

Portrait of James, oil on panel, 16"x12". Done a few years ago during our weekly group life drawing session. James was a nursing student and a great guy to work with.

Newest from the studio: "Kalyn #2", charcoal on toned paper. Done in last week's group life session, with changes and corrections in the studio yesterday. Wonderful model and lady.

Love this!

"Terminal" is based on my time with the NATO peacekeeping forces in Bosnia in '96. For me, it was quite an education on what can happen when civility goes out the window. And it's still happening now in Ukraine. Oil on canvas, 24"x30".

"Secrets of the Universe", done 20+ years ago when my hair was still brown. I was using toys as narrative subjects because they could hold still and didn't ask for modeling fees. I don't remember what Marvin the Martian was telling me, dammit ...

Really nice landscape sketching here ...

So Steve Witkoff is claiming that Trump got a concession from Putin that the US could put a security guarantee in place for Ukraine similar to NATO's Article 5. I wasn't aware that we had to ask Putin for permission to use our own military whenever we wanted to.

I spent 18 months in Iraq, 2008-2010. All the major highways had frequent checkpoints manned by armed Iraqi guards. They covered their faces to hide their identities and protect themselves and families. We didn't think that our own country would have armed masked men on our streets.

We had the wonderful @emmadubinmodel as our subject in last night’s life drawing group. I just used vine charcoal and white chalk for this effort. Still have a little tweaking to do but it came out pretty well.

From the Wayback Machine: "3:45 pm", oil on canvas, 22"x30". Done in my old studio in a 100+ year old textile mill. It had three huge windows opening to the southwest. Besides being hotter than hell in the summer, they threw beautiful light across the old wood floors.

"Rain on the Matanzas River", oil on panel, 9"x12", is with new owners. Many thanks to Mars Landing Galleries for finding a new home for it!

For Throwback Thursday, here's Irv, oil on panel, 24"x18, done as part of my "Old Times" series a long time ago. Irv was a friend of ours. He had been a school teacher for many years. He and his partner Pauline were always dancing - in their house, out on the town, walking down the street.

We were just watching a documentary that included news films from the 50's and 60's showing the hatred from whites and those in power towards the Blacks. It's exactly the same bullshit that's going on right now against immigrants. Our parents and grandparents defeated it then. Now it's our turn.

Newest painting from the studio. It's 18"x24", oil on canvas. I don't have a good poetic title for it yet because I don't have a poetic brain. Paintings like this are collaborations, and many thanks go to my friend Em for the collaboration that led to this. More will come.

"The Doorway", oil on canvas, 36"x26". Part of my "Toyland" series from some years ago. No, I don't know what it's all about, but I'm pretty sure that you can come up with a good backstory yourself!

Apryl, charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 14"x11", a 30-minute effort from Wednesday's life drawing group. Now that I'm posting this, I see a few things that need to change. Artworks are never done!

When people talk of the healing power of art, this is my example. My mom passed away from throat cancer and I did not handle it well. Years later, I painted my own riff on "Olympia" of a strong, self-confident woman, but this time in a place not of her choosing. And me, not sure what to do.

"A.", oil on canvas, 24"x18". No story behind this one except enjoying working with one of my favorite models.

El Emigrante. Bruno Catalano. #art #sculpture

Portrait. © Laura Makabresku

Typical afternoon in Iraq: hot and hazy. This is from the top of our building on the base at the Baghdad airport, looking west. Almost looks like a normal country. "Abu Ghraib Afternoon", oil on panel, 12"x16". #oilpainting #landscapepainting #iraq

"Em #6", charcoal and pastel on toned paper. I was talking with another artist the other day mentioned that I used to do a lot of these high-contrast figures and portraits, but had drifted away from it. So I subsequently decided to try it again.

Quick sketches from our weekly artist life drawing group.

"Aubrey #2", charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 19"x25". I wasn't happy with my original effort and it sat for weeks as I tried to decide what to do. Finally decided on a big revision: everything from the waist up is original but reworked; everything below is all new.

"Fox #10", charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19". We had Jen sit for our weekly artist group this past Wednesday. Wonderful lady, wonderful model, and my effort turned out pretty okay.

Beautiful work by Dutch photographer Jenny Boot.

"Janis Laughing", charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19".

"The Letter", oil on panel, 16"x12". I think we've all gotten something in the mail that left us like this ...

"Clementine #1", charcoal and pastel on toned paper. Had a really hard time getting a good likeness of this lovely young woman in our weekly artist group. Looking forward to working with her again. It'll be easier next time, maybe??

"Tent City", oil on panel, 12"x17". Some of you will recognize it: Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait. This was a waiting and transit area for those heading downrange and those heading home. And yes, the dust storms really could be that orange. Now in the National Veterans Art Museum, Chicago.

"In the Pose", oil on panel, 20"x16". This started as an oil sketch in our group's weekly life drawing/painting session, but it worked pretty well from the get-go, so I continued working on it for another week or so to get to this level.

"Troy #9", charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19". From one of our group's weekly life drawing sessions.

Portrait of a friend of mine from a few years ago. He's a veteran, a survivor, and an excellent artist. Charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19".

This guy is a friend who was a Marine who did two tours in Viet Nam. He still has PTSD 58 years later, and feels the effects of Agent Orange as well. Wars have severe and permanent impacts on those who are participants. Something our leaders should keep in mind.

We had a great model for our weekly life drawing group last night. Lots of grace in her pose, and I was able to capture some of it in charcoal on paper.

Astrid #1, charcoal and pastel on toned paper, 25"x19". Done in one of our weekly 2-hour life sessions in the studio. She's a wonderful woman and an excellent model.

"The Figure Drawing Session", oil on canvas, 22"x24". I run a weekly life drawing group in my studio. Many of my efforts go right in the trash, but sometimes a painting seems to come together, and this was one. Another week or so of work and this is the result.

Real cops don't need full-on tactical gear and masks to arrest a dishwasher or strawberry-picker.

"Submit", oil on canvas, 48"x48". Painted a few years ago as part of a series titled "What May Be", about what might happen if we don't get our collective acts together. Turned out to be very prophetic.

"Refugee", oil on canvas, 30"x40". Because we're all one step away from being refugees ourselves.

Recipe for a Big Beautiful TACO: - Pure white flour wrap (“tortillas” are for immigrants) - Bonespur-less chicken McNuggets - Ceasar dressing - Garnish with crumbled Cheetos